SCOTUS Backs Muslim Travel Ban; Critics Liken It to Decisions on Segregation & Japanese Internment

Democracy Now!
June 27, 2018

In a series of extraordinary legal decisions Tuesday, the Supreme Court has upheld President Trump’s so-called Muslim travel ban, and a federal judge in San Diego has ruled immigration officials must stop separating immigrant children from their parents at the border and must reunite all parents and children within 30 days. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 to uphold Trump’s travel ban, which prohibits people from entering the United States from five majority-Muslim countries—Iran, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Somalia—as well as people from North Korea and some government officials from Venezuela. In a scathing dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor condemned the ban as “harrowing” and said it was “motivated by hostility and animus toward the Muslim faith.” She also said the decision to uphold the ban involved “ignoring the facts, misconstruing our legal precedent and turning a blind eye to the pain and suffering the proclamation inflicts upon countless families and individuals, many of whom are United States citizens.” After the ruling was announced, protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court to condemn the decision. Democracy now spoke to Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project; Linda Sarsour of MPower Change; and CCR's Diala Shamas.

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Last modified 

June 28, 2018